Hiding time beneath diamonds: The intrigue and artistry of secret watches

By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, CNN

Updated 11:09 AM ET, Wed April 12, 2017

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Photos:Hiding time under diamonds

"Snake" bracelet watch, Bulgari – This emerald and gold coiled serpent wristwatch, made by Bulgari in 1961, once belonged to the actress Elizabeth Taylor, and sold for $974,500 at a Christie's auction in 2011.

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Photos:Hiding time under diamonds

Nature Triomphante Lierre de Paris, Boucheron – This secret watch, made of white gold and diamond, wraps around the wrist three times, with the dial hidden beneath a central diamond-encrusted ivy leaf.

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Les Éternelles de Chanel secret watch, Chanel – This secret watch in 18-karat white gold from Chanel is a one-of-a-kind sparkler. Set with a 5-carat pear-cut diamond at the end, it features a further seven fancy-cut diamonds and 1,361 brilliant-cut diamonds.

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Les Éternelles de Chanel secret necklace watch transformable, Chanel – This 18-karat white gold secret watch can be worn as a necklace or a bracelet. It is set with a 10-carat round-cut Fancy Brown Yellow diamond, 75 Indonesian cultured pearls and 502 brilliant-cut diamonds.

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Photos:Hiding time under diamonds

Princess Butterfly, Graff Diamonds – This watch has a mother-of-pearl dial hidden beneath a jeweled mechanism, designed in the shape of a butterfly. Graff Diamonds design director Anne-Eva Geffroy says secret watches like this appeal to clients who enjoy the intrigue and element of surprise.

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Photos:Hiding time under diamonds

Princess Butterfly, Graff Diamonds – "By the very nature of their design, the gemstones incorporated and the way in which they are set, each watch is a masterpiece," says Geffroy.

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My Precious Time, Harry Winston – This 18-karat white gold secret timepiece is set within a brooch, with the dial revealed by pressing on a marquise-cut diamond.

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Cerf-Volant long necklace watch, Van Cleef & Arpels – This single-edition secret timepiece is worn around the neck and includes round, square and baguette-cut diamonds, rubies, onyx, and mother-of-pearl.

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Photos:Hiding time under diamonds

Cerf-Volant long necklace watch, Van Cleef & Arpels – Pressing on the cabochon-cut ruby that sits atop the timepiece lowers the lid of the case, which in turn reveals a mirror that reflects the watch's dial.

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Photos:Hiding time under diamonds

Heure Marine, Van Cleef & Arpels – The diamond cap on this bracelet is opened by pressing an emerald cabochon and reveals a mother of pearl dial hidden beneath. Part of the maison's Seven Seas collection, the watch is made from white and yellow gold, round, pear and baguette-cut diamonds, onyx, baguette-cut sapphires and an emerald.

Médor Secrète, Hermès – "The best pieces are first and foremost beautiful pieces of jewelry that happened to have a timepiece inside," says Jonathan Darracott, global head of watches at auction house Bonhams.

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Photos:Hiding time under diamonds

Caméléon secret hour watch, Cartier – Made from white gold and set with tourmalines, turquoises, onyx and diamonds, this secret watch's dial is hidden by a single 16.18-carat round green tourmaline.

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Diamond Outrage, Audemars Piguet – The spikes on this watch, set with diamonds and sapphire, are designed to reflect the Alpine peaks of the Le Brassus region of Switzerland, where Audemars Piguet watches are made.

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Diamond Fury, Audemars Piguet – The Diamond Fury secret watch is crafted from an 18-karat white gold bracelet set with 4,635 brilliant-cut diamonds. The hidden dial is set with a further 206 brilliant-cut diamonds.

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Story highlights

Secret watches are timepieces with a hidden dial -- and often a bejeweled cover

First conceived in the 1920s to protect the dial, they also proved a discrete way to keep track of time

(CNN)Elizabeth Taylor had an eye for beautiful jewelry, once declaring "a girl can always have more diamonds."

Designed as a serpent to coil around the wrist, it features two hypnotic emerald eyes and tail paved with diamonds. A discreet mechanism opens its jaws to reveal a tiny quartz watch.

Though it was only expected to sell for up to $15,000, the "secret watch" -- so called because the dial is hidden behind a cover -- fetched an impressive $974,500.

Because of the complexity involved in creating a delicate hinged cover, secret watches offer an opportunity for luxury watchmakers to showcase their design creativity, as well as the breadth of their technical savoir faire -- all while answering the demand for multi-functionality.

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Time made discreet

Secret watches were conceived in the 1920s primarily as a protection for the dial, but also as a more discrete way to keep track of the time among society.

"Having a dial on view was not to everybody's taste, especially if you were wearing fine jewelries, and hiding the piece under some diamonds was a very decent way of having a watch without being perceived of having a watch," says Jonathan Darracott, global head of watches at auction house Bonhams.

"All the brands did some -- Cartier, Omega, Vacheron Constantin, and of course Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Reverso, which is practically a secret watch," he adds. "I think some of the best ones were made in the 1960s and 70s, because they're very much jewelry pieces, with the finest examples being the Bulgari snake watches."

Catherine Cariou, heritage director at Van Cleef & Arpels, says at a time when it may have been considered "indelicate for a lady to look at the time," the brand deployed a wealth of imagination to find discreet and refined solutions, which still seduce today's aesthetes.

A sliding cover reveals the dial, neatly hidden amongst an edgy multi-pyramid contour that is entirely covered with tiny diamonds using snow-setting, a relatively new technique that allows the diamond-setter to play with stones of different diameters and create a more organic design.

"Most of our competitors focus really on the romantic and poetic side of high jewelry creation, which is great because that fits their identity," Gruber says. "We wanted to create something that fits ours. We are a rule-breaker, so we wanted to show we could do high jewelry creations ... but we can do it in a different way."

For its latest creation, unveiled at SIHH 2017, the brand pushed the envelope further with the Diamond Outrage Secret Watch, which has diamond spikes that recall the Alpine peaks of the Le Brassus region of Switzerland, where Audemars Piguet watches are made.

Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Calendar Watch Prize – The Legacy Machine Perpetual by MB&F took out the Calendar Watch Prize for 2016 for its in-house perpetual calendar. Designed in conjunction with Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell, the platinum watch sells for around $181,000, and is limited to just 25 editions.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Public Prize – The 33 bis Quai des Bergues from Czapek Genève was awarded the prize for the best watch of 2016 as chosen by the general public. The red gold wristwatch has a 'Grand Feu' enamel dial and sells for $24,000.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Revival Watch Prize – The 2016 HEUER Monza chronograph from TAG took out the Revival Watch Prize. It's a recreation of the iconic Heuer Monza 1976.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

The Tourbillon Watch Prize – The Tourbillon Watch Prize 2016 was won by the Esmeralda Tourbillon from Girard-Perregaux. The pink gold time piece is inspired by the Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges pocket chronometer that won the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Aiguille d'Or (Grand Prize) – Winner of the Aiguille d'Or, the top prize at the 2016 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, was the Chronomètre Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1. The limited edition watch, which sells for $212,000, is made from white gold and titanium, and powered by an original mechanical hand-wound movement comprising more than 1,120 components.

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Artistic Crafts Watch Prize – The Protocole XXL "Secrets and Lights" Venice watch from Piaget took home the Artistic Crafts Watch Prize for its micro-mosaic illustration of the Santa Maria Della Salute basilica in Venice. Just three of these $250,000 watches were made, with the design on each handcrafted from nearly 5,000 miniscule glass tiles.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Ladies' High-Mech Watch Prize – Set with 50 diamonds on the bezel and featuring a white mother of pearl dial, the Cat's Eye Tourbillon with Gold Bridge from Girard Perregaux was awarded the Ladies' High-mech Watch Prize for 2016.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Jewellery Watch Prize – Chanel took home the Jewellery Watch Prize at the 2016 GPHG awards ceremony for its spectacular, single-edition Secret Watch "Signature Grenat". The 18-carat white gold watch sells for more than $750,000, and features a 52.61 carat carmine garnet surrounded by diamonds and orange sapphires.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Ladies Watch Prize – The pink gold Limelight Gala Milanese Bracelet from Piaget took home the Ladies' Watch Prize for 2016. Retailing for more than $35,000, the diamond-set time piece has a quartz movement.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Mechanical Exception Watch Prize – The 2016 prize for the Mechanical Exception Watch went to the Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie from Audemars Piguet. The titanium and ceramic, minute repeater wristwatch chimes the hours and quarter hours, and sells for more than $560,000.

Chronograph Watch Prize – The 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Limited Edition from Montblanc took home the Chronograph Watch Prize at the 2016 GPHG awards ceremony. Only 100 of the steel and pin buckle watches will be made.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Travel Time Watch Prize – Awarded the Travel Time Watch Prize for 2016, the self-winding Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ displays two timezones simultaneously. The pink gold and titanium watch features a self-winding, mechanical movement and has a power reserve of 50 hours.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

'Petite Aiguille' Prize – Winner of the Petite Aiguille Prize, the Heritage Black Bay Bronze by Tudor sells for a more accessible $3,800, and features an aluminum bronze alloy case.

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Photos:The Oscars of watchmaking

Sports Watch Prize – Awarded the Sports Watch Prize, the steel and rubber Scafograf 300 from Eberhard & Co. is water proof to 300 meters, with a shock-resistant case. It features an engraved starfish on its back.

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Surprise appeal

Other brands are entering this niche market for the first time.

During couture week in Paris this past January, Italian jeweler Giampiero Bodino unveiled three timepieces -- all elaborately embellished secret watches -- for the first time. Dior Joaillerie also presented its first secret watches, which had been created as part of a jewelry collection dedicated to the opal, a favorite gemstone of its artistic director, Victoire de Castellane.

The designer used large, oval opals to hide the dials, which are only revealed when the stone is pivoted.

"It just so happens that the bracelets tell time," she said of the watches in a video that highlights their intricate fashioning.